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INDEX
ICWA Advisory
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
Council vacancy
NEWS BRIEFS
■ 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4
CLASSIFIEDS
7
na/-.Q A
Local media should
investigate what's
really happening
page 4
"We Demand Police
Accountability to
our American Indian
Community"
page 4
Help our children,
keep the circle strong
page 4
Pete White must
provide answers in an
open, public forum
page 4
Leech Lake chainnan White calls for new era of open
and responsive government
By Jeff Armstrong
Describing himself as "a leader
that is radical and wanting to make
a change," Leech Lake chairman-
elect Pete White vowed to break
down the walls between reservation
officials and constituents at his Feb.
21 swearing-in ceremony. White
was sworn in by his father, Donald.
"You can knock on our doors any
time. But why knock on the door—
walk right in," said White. "You are
a Leech Laker and you are an
equal."
Addressing the standing-room-
only crowd of several hundred at
the Palace Casino, White said he
would hold a general assembly
meeting within the next month to
chart a path out ofthe reservation's
fiscal and pohtical crisis.
"I will be bold and straightforward. I expect the people also to be
straightforward, to say what needs
to be said at these meetings," said
White. "Let's get rid ofthe reactionary government; let's be proactive."
RBC member Luke Wilson, who
spearheaded a failed effort to remove secretary treasurer Archie
LaRose after succeeding White as
District I representative, was notably absent from the event.
White pledged that all future RBC
meetings will be open to the pubhc,
a move he anticipates will greatly
increase the responsiveness of
elected representatives. The chairman directed all RBC officials to
prepare a written report on short
and long term recommendations
for financial and pohtical reform
for submission to the people at the
March assembly meeting.
"I am going to ask the tribal
council themselves how they feel
about finances," said White. "I am
also going to ask what they think is
NEW ERA to page 5
Expanding authority of tribal
government high on NCAI agenda
by Clara NiiSka
The Executive Council ofthe National Congress of American Indians
(NCAI) met in Washington, DC. on
February 23-27. The theme of this
year's meeting, "Defining Our
Agenda - Reflect, Refocus, Renew,"
reflects NCAI's "desire to engage
tribal representatives in shaping a
concrete agenda for... the 108th
Congress," according to the group's
printed agenda for the meeting.
The 'Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative" (TSPI) is high on the
NCAI's agenda Launched largely in
response to the U.S. Supreme Court's
rulings in two cases that court heard
in 2001, Atkinson Trading Company
v. Shirley and Nevada v. Hicks, the
goal of the TSPI is to pass legislation
affirming that "Indian tribes retain
their inherent right to govern all
people and places within Indian
country unless that power has been
specifically limited by treaty or federal statutes." In a position paper
posted on its website at http://
wwwjicai.org, NCAI expresses
' 'strong concerns that the Supreme
Court is on an accelerating trend toward removing tribal jurisdiction
over the conduct of non-Indians
within tribal territory.... The most recent Supreme Court cases make it
clear that tribal governments are in an
increasingly defensive posture in the
federal courts, and it is likely that the
upcoming years will prove to be even
more damaging if this defensive posture is maintained."
The strategies adopted by the
TSPI to "halt and reverse the Supreme Court's erosion of tribal sovereignty" include projects to:
• Develop federal legislation to reaffirm tribal jurisdiction
• Form a Supreme Court project to
support and coordinate tribal advocacy before the Supreme Court
• Promote strategies for tribal governance that will protect tribal jurisdiction
• Increase tribal participation in the
selection ofthe federal judiciary.
AGENDA to page 7
Legislation currently before the
Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs
1.S.RES.64: An original resolution
authorizing expenditures by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
Sponsor: Sen Campbell, Ben
Nighthorse [CO]
Committees: Senate Indian Affairs;
Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/25/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status:
Referred to the Committee on Rules
and Administration.
2. S.162: A bill to provide for the use
of distribution of certain funds
awarded to the Gila River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Community, and for
other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen McCain, John [AZ]
Committees: Senate Indian Affairs
Latest Major Action: 2/26/2003
Senate committee/subcommittee
actions. Status: Committee on Indian
Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
3. S175: A bill to establish a direct
line of authority for the Office of Trust
Reform Implementation and Oversight to oversee the management
and reform of Indian trust funds and
assets under the jurisdiction of the
Department of the Interior, and to
advance tribal management of such
funds and assets, pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination Act and for
RESOLUTION lo page 7
Wealthy Mystic tribe lines up at the
government trough
By Richard MacPhie
WCCO-TV in the Twin Cities
recently investigated the
Mdewakanton and learned that,
despite the tribe's incredible
wealth, they still line up for free
government handouts. Mystic
Lake Casino is one of the most
profitable Indian casinos in the
country. The Shakopee
Mdewakanton tribe owns the casino. There are approximately 200
adult tribal members pulling in
about a milhon dollars a year. The
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
says that the Shakopee
Mdewankaton Sioux total of
$ 177,000 federal aid and annual
aid to the Shakopee Mdewakanton
has increased thirty-six percent
over the past five years.
But. according to WCCO-TV,
the tribe actually receives almost
$800,000. The breakdown goes as
follows;
• $57,000 a year to run their
tribal government.
• More than half a milhon for
health services.
• $120,000 of water pollution
funds.
• $65,000 a year of Indian child
welfare payments.
MYSTIC to page 6
Dioxin finding
prompts EPA
testing of Cass
Lake superfund
site
By Jeff Armstrong
Federal environmental officials say the EPA will begin
checking soil samples from the
St. Regis superfund site in Cass
Lake for dioxin contamination
as soon as the ground is sufficiently thawed. Preliminary
screening revealed the presence
DIOXIN to page 6
Report: Tribe
offered $500,000
to candidate for
unlimited
compacts
Associated Press
Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Indian
tribe offered $500,000 to whichever gubernatorial candidate
agreed to allow it to run its casinos
with perpetual compacts, then-Gov.
Scott McCallum's campaign manager told a newspaper.
But a spokesman for Gov. Jim
Doyle said such no deal was ever
offered.
Darrin Schmitz, also current executive director ofthe state Repub-
REP0RT to page 6
Will the Indian scholarship office
move back to Bemidji?
The Indian scholarship office in
Bemidji closed last October, and
for the past four months Indian students have dealt with the Minnesota Indian Education office in the
Twin Cities (online at http://
cfl.state.mn.us/Indianed/).
State senators and representatives from the Bemidji area, including Rod Skoe (DFL-Clearbrook),
have been reportedly working on
legislation to bring the office back
to Bemidji. "It's much more effective to work with people where
they live," Skoe told a local newspaper. "It was put there in the first
place because of that."
The Indian scholarship program
was launched in Bemidji in 1952.
The first scholarships to Indian students were awarded three years
later. By the time the Bemidji office closed in 2002, Indian scholarships administered through the office totaled $1.9 milhon. According to one source, an average of
1500 students apply for Minnesota
Indian scholarships annually.
Rep. Skoe, along with Sen. Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point), and
Rep. Doug Fuller (R-Bemidji), told
the Bemidji Pioneer that they were
'optimistic' that the Bemidji office
would re-open. Ruud said that the
office could either be moved back
to Bemidji by gubernatorial executive order, or the state Legislature
OFFICE to page 3
American Indian family sues over raid
By Hannah Allam
St. Paul Pioneer Press
An American Indian family filed
a federal lawsuit Tuesday against
several Minneapohs pohce officers, alleging excessive force was
used during a September raid of
the family's home in the Little
Earth housing development.
Six relatives and two friends
who were in the home at the time
claim that their race and location in
one of Minnesota's roughest
neighborhoods led pohce officers
to mistreat them. The plaintiffs say
the incident included kicks, hits
with a rifle butt, pointed guns and
lewd comments.
A spokeswoman said the city
does not discuss legal matters. Pohce Chief Robert K. Olson's only
comments were in a prepared statement that said pohce are "committed to ensuring that people are
treated respectfully and fairly and
does not condone any inappropriate conduct by members ofthe department."
Officers had obtained a warrant
based on information that residents
were selling drugs. They began the
RAID to page 6
Secretary of Education Rod
Paige addresses National
Congress of American Indians:
Emphasizes 'No
Child Left
Behind' Program
By Jean Pagano
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod
Paige spoke this week to the Executive Council Winter Session of
the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI) in Washington.
Paige began by recalling Sitting
ADDRESS to page 6
Wisconsin lawmakers approve bill giving themselves
final say on tribal gambling compacts
By JR Ross
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis.— State lawmakers adopted a bill Friday that
gives them the final say in approving Indian gambling contracts, fol-.
lowing complaints the governor
gave up too much in negotiating a
deal for the Oneida Nation.
Eager to plug a huge budget deficit, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle
reached an agreement this week giving the Oneida a permanent com
pact that allows more games and
higher betting limits in exchange for
$38 million over two years.
The bill's sponsors in the Republican-controlled Legislature said
the agreement would eliminate
state oversight of casinos and open
up Wisconsin to Las Vegas-style
gaming.
"We will regret this day for the
rest of our hves if we don't draw a
line in the sand and ask what's going on," said Assembly Speaker
John Gard. "You do not sell your
soul to fix your budget problem."
The bill subjects any gambling
agreement reached by the governor
to a vote in the Legislature. Lawmakers could not amend the deals.
The Senate passed the bill on a
voice vote and the Assembly approved it 58-31.
Doyle declined to say Friday
whether he would issue a veto,
COMPACTS to page 6
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
^e^
Native
American
rPBSS/ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication. Copyright, Native American Press, 2003
Founded in 1988
Volume 15 Issue 38
February 28,2003
AP Photo/Mark Duncan
(top) Camille George,
left, her daughter
Rose Ann
Abrahamson, center,
and granddaughter
Leela Abrahamson
pose in the Lemhi
Valley near Salmon,
Idaho. The Shoshone
women trace their ancestry directly to Chief
Cameahwait, brother
of Sacajawea, who
helped the Lewis and
Clark Expedition at a
critical point.
(right) Prayer bundles
in traditional native
colors adorn the
fence around the
mass grave at the site
of the Wounded Knee
Massacre in
Wounded Knee, S.D.
February 27, 2003,
marks the 30th anniversary of a standoff
between the American Indian Movement
and the Federal government.
AP Photo/Doug Dreyer
'Racino' plans in the works
The owners of Canterbury Park in Shakopee are banking on favorable
gaming legislation, which faces opposition from Minnesota Indian tribes
by David Phelps
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Canterbury Park's owners and
supporters announced plans
Monday for a $90 million expansion project in conjunction with
legislation to allow slot and video
gambling at the Shakopee horse
track.
The legislation would place
control ofthe gambling operation
under the Minnesota Lottery and
provide an estimated $75 million
a year in state revenues, according to Canterbury chief executive
Randy Sampson.
Senate Minority Leader Dick
Day, R-Owatonna, and Rep.
Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, are
chief sponsors of the legislation,
which rates as a long shot given
Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's
opposition to gambling expansion
in Minnesota.
The Canterbury proposal to
create a "racino," also faces opposition from Minnesota Indian
tribes, which currently have exclusive rights to offer slots, video
gambling and blackjack at 19 reservation casinos.
The tribes contend that they
have an agreement with the state
that prohibits gambling beyond
the reservations and that non-Indian gambling would particularly
hurt reservations outside the Twin
Cities metropolitan area.
"It's the same old story," said
John McCarthy ofthe Minnesota
Indian Gaming Commission.
"Every time the tribes have gotten anything, someone is there to
take it away."
Minnesota bar owners also are
concerned that slots at Canterbury would hurt their business.
"It's hard enough now to compete with casinos," said James
Farreli of the Minnesota Licensed
Beverage Association. "What
happens if you multiply that?"
But Day was undeterred in his
optimism about the track project,
which includes a 250-room hotel,
an equestrian center with a 3,000-
seat arena for show horses, polo
grounds and a cross-country
RACINO to page 6
Cash in hand,
tribes cultivate
clout in D.C.
by'Thomas Hargrove
Albuquerque Tribune
The Sandia Pueblo has spent
millions of dollars of casino revenue to lobby Congress for
rights to Sandia Mountain, proof
of the growing clout on Capitol
Hill of the Indian gaming lobby.
In the last four years, the casino gambling industry in
America has also made $19.7
milhon in political contributions,
including $4.3 milhon in direct
FRAUD to page 7
Doyle cut gaming deal with 2nd tribe
Now Oneida and Potawatomi have perpetual
gaming compacts
by Tom Sheehan
Wisconsin State Journal
As Republicans attacked Gov.
Jim Doyle last week for cutting a
deal with the Oneida Nation for a
perpetual gaming compact, Doyle
was busy signing a similar deal
with another of the state's 11 tribes,
records released Monday show.
On Feb. 19, Doyle signed a perpetual agreement with the Forest
County Potowatomi to allow that
tribe to offer more gambling options in exchange for a higher cut
of its take. That's the same day Re
publican legislators slammed
Doyle for reaching a tentative deal
in secret with the Oneida Nation
for a gaming compact that never
expires. Announcement Monday of
a signed deal with the Potawatomi
drew similar outrage from Republican leaders.
The Potawatomi agreement calls
for annual payments to increase
from about $8 milhon a year currently to about $40 milhon in 2004
and $50 milhon in 2005, said Secretary of Administration Marc
DOYLE to page 3

INDEX
ICWA Advisory
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
Council vacancy
NEWS BRIEFS
■ 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4
CLASSIFIEDS
7
na/-.Q A
Local media should
investigate what's
really happening
page 4
"We Demand Police
Accountability to
our American Indian
Community"
page 4
Help our children,
keep the circle strong
page 4
Pete White must
provide answers in an
open, public forum
page 4
Leech Lake chainnan White calls for new era of open
and responsive government
By Jeff Armstrong
Describing himself as "a leader
that is radical and wanting to make
a change," Leech Lake chairman-
elect Pete White vowed to break
down the walls between reservation
officials and constituents at his Feb.
21 swearing-in ceremony. White
was sworn in by his father, Donald.
"You can knock on our doors any
time. But why knock on the door—
walk right in," said White. "You are
a Leech Laker and you are an
equal."
Addressing the standing-room-
only crowd of several hundred at
the Palace Casino, White said he
would hold a general assembly
meeting within the next month to
chart a path out ofthe reservation's
fiscal and pohtical crisis.
"I will be bold and straightforward. I expect the people also to be
straightforward, to say what needs
to be said at these meetings," said
White. "Let's get rid ofthe reactionary government; let's be proactive."
RBC member Luke Wilson, who
spearheaded a failed effort to remove secretary treasurer Archie
LaRose after succeeding White as
District I representative, was notably absent from the event.
White pledged that all future RBC
meetings will be open to the pubhc,
a move he anticipates will greatly
increase the responsiveness of
elected representatives. The chairman directed all RBC officials to
prepare a written report on short
and long term recommendations
for financial and pohtical reform
for submission to the people at the
March assembly meeting.
"I am going to ask the tribal
council themselves how they feel
about finances," said White. "I am
also going to ask what they think is
NEW ERA to page 5
Expanding authority of tribal
government high on NCAI agenda
by Clara NiiSka
The Executive Council ofthe National Congress of American Indians
(NCAI) met in Washington, DC. on
February 23-27. The theme of this
year's meeting, "Defining Our
Agenda - Reflect, Refocus, Renew,"
reflects NCAI's "desire to engage
tribal representatives in shaping a
concrete agenda for... the 108th
Congress," according to the group's
printed agenda for the meeting.
The 'Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative" (TSPI) is high on the
NCAI's agenda Launched largely in
response to the U.S. Supreme Court's
rulings in two cases that court heard
in 2001, Atkinson Trading Company
v. Shirley and Nevada v. Hicks, the
goal of the TSPI is to pass legislation
affirming that "Indian tribes retain
their inherent right to govern all
people and places within Indian
country unless that power has been
specifically limited by treaty or federal statutes." In a position paper
posted on its website at http://
wwwjicai.org, NCAI expresses
' 'strong concerns that the Supreme
Court is on an accelerating trend toward removing tribal jurisdiction
over the conduct of non-Indians
within tribal territory.... The most recent Supreme Court cases make it
clear that tribal governments are in an
increasingly defensive posture in the
federal courts, and it is likely that the
upcoming years will prove to be even
more damaging if this defensive posture is maintained."
The strategies adopted by the
TSPI to "halt and reverse the Supreme Court's erosion of tribal sovereignty" include projects to:
• Develop federal legislation to reaffirm tribal jurisdiction
• Form a Supreme Court project to
support and coordinate tribal advocacy before the Supreme Court
• Promote strategies for tribal governance that will protect tribal jurisdiction
• Increase tribal participation in the
selection ofthe federal judiciary.
AGENDA to page 7
Legislation currently before the
Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs
1.S.RES.64: An original resolution
authorizing expenditures by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
Sponsor: Sen Campbell, Ben
Nighthorse [CO]
Committees: Senate Indian Affairs;
Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 2/25/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status:
Referred to the Committee on Rules
and Administration.
2. S.162: A bill to provide for the use
of distribution of certain funds
awarded to the Gila River Pima-
Maricopa Indian Community, and for
other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen McCain, John [AZ]
Committees: Senate Indian Affairs
Latest Major Action: 2/26/2003
Senate committee/subcommittee
actions. Status: Committee on Indian
Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
3. S175: A bill to establish a direct
line of authority for the Office of Trust
Reform Implementation and Oversight to oversee the management
and reform of Indian trust funds and
assets under the jurisdiction of the
Department of the Interior, and to
advance tribal management of such
funds and assets, pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination Act and for
RESOLUTION lo page 7
Wealthy Mystic tribe lines up at the
government trough
By Richard MacPhie
WCCO-TV in the Twin Cities
recently investigated the
Mdewakanton and learned that,
despite the tribe's incredible
wealth, they still line up for free
government handouts. Mystic
Lake Casino is one of the most
profitable Indian casinos in the
country. The Shakopee
Mdewakanton tribe owns the casino. There are approximately 200
adult tribal members pulling in
about a milhon dollars a year. The
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
says that the Shakopee
Mdewankaton Sioux total of
$ 177,000 federal aid and annual
aid to the Shakopee Mdewakanton
has increased thirty-six percent
over the past five years.
But. according to WCCO-TV,
the tribe actually receives almost
$800,000. The breakdown goes as
follows;
• $57,000 a year to run their
tribal government.
• More than half a milhon for
health services.
• $120,000 of water pollution
funds.
• $65,000 a year of Indian child
welfare payments.
MYSTIC to page 6
Dioxin finding
prompts EPA
testing of Cass
Lake superfund
site
By Jeff Armstrong
Federal environmental officials say the EPA will begin
checking soil samples from the
St. Regis superfund site in Cass
Lake for dioxin contamination
as soon as the ground is sufficiently thawed. Preliminary
screening revealed the presence
DIOXIN to page 6
Report: Tribe
offered $500,000
to candidate for
unlimited
compacts
Associated Press
Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Indian
tribe offered $500,000 to whichever gubernatorial candidate
agreed to allow it to run its casinos
with perpetual compacts, then-Gov.
Scott McCallum's campaign manager told a newspaper.
But a spokesman for Gov. Jim
Doyle said such no deal was ever
offered.
Darrin Schmitz, also current executive director ofthe state Repub-
REP0RT to page 6
Will the Indian scholarship office
move back to Bemidji?
The Indian scholarship office in
Bemidji closed last October, and
for the past four months Indian students have dealt with the Minnesota Indian Education office in the
Twin Cities (online at http://
cfl.state.mn.us/Indianed/).
State senators and representatives from the Bemidji area, including Rod Skoe (DFL-Clearbrook),
have been reportedly working on
legislation to bring the office back
to Bemidji. "It's much more effective to work with people where
they live," Skoe told a local newspaper. "It was put there in the first
place because of that."
The Indian scholarship program
was launched in Bemidji in 1952.
The first scholarships to Indian students were awarded three years
later. By the time the Bemidji office closed in 2002, Indian scholarships administered through the office totaled $1.9 milhon. According to one source, an average of
1500 students apply for Minnesota
Indian scholarships annually.
Rep. Skoe, along with Sen. Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point), and
Rep. Doug Fuller (R-Bemidji), told
the Bemidji Pioneer that they were
'optimistic' that the Bemidji office
would re-open. Ruud said that the
office could either be moved back
to Bemidji by gubernatorial executive order, or the state Legislature
OFFICE to page 3
American Indian family sues over raid
By Hannah Allam
St. Paul Pioneer Press
An American Indian family filed
a federal lawsuit Tuesday against
several Minneapohs pohce officers, alleging excessive force was
used during a September raid of
the family's home in the Little
Earth housing development.
Six relatives and two friends
who were in the home at the time
claim that their race and location in
one of Minnesota's roughest
neighborhoods led pohce officers
to mistreat them. The plaintiffs say
the incident included kicks, hits
with a rifle butt, pointed guns and
lewd comments.
A spokeswoman said the city
does not discuss legal matters. Pohce Chief Robert K. Olson's only
comments were in a prepared statement that said pohce are "committed to ensuring that people are
treated respectfully and fairly and
does not condone any inappropriate conduct by members ofthe department."
Officers had obtained a warrant
based on information that residents
were selling drugs. They began the
RAID to page 6
Secretary of Education Rod
Paige addresses National
Congress of American Indians:
Emphasizes 'No
Child Left
Behind' Program
By Jean Pagano
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod
Paige spoke this week to the Executive Council Winter Session of
the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI) in Washington.
Paige began by recalling Sitting
ADDRESS to page 6
Wisconsin lawmakers approve bill giving themselves
final say on tribal gambling compacts
By JR Ross
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis.— State lawmakers adopted a bill Friday that
gives them the final say in approving Indian gambling contracts, fol-.
lowing complaints the governor
gave up too much in negotiating a
deal for the Oneida Nation.
Eager to plug a huge budget deficit, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle
reached an agreement this week giving the Oneida a permanent com
pact that allows more games and
higher betting limits in exchange for
$38 million over two years.
The bill's sponsors in the Republican-controlled Legislature said
the agreement would eliminate
state oversight of casinos and open
up Wisconsin to Las Vegas-style
gaming.
"We will regret this day for the
rest of our hves if we don't draw a
line in the sand and ask what's going on," said Assembly Speaker
John Gard. "You do not sell your
soul to fix your budget problem."
The bill subjects any gambling
agreement reached by the governor
to a vote in the Legislature. Lawmakers could not amend the deals.
The Senate passed the bill on a
voice vote and the Assembly approved it 58-31.
Doyle declined to say Friday
whether he would issue a veto,
COMPACTS to page 6
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
^e^
Native
American
rPBSS/ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication. Copyright, Native American Press, 2003
Founded in 1988
Volume 15 Issue 38
February 28,2003
AP Photo/Mark Duncan
(top) Camille George,
left, her daughter
Rose Ann
Abrahamson, center,
and granddaughter
Leela Abrahamson
pose in the Lemhi
Valley near Salmon,
Idaho. The Shoshone
women trace their ancestry directly to Chief
Cameahwait, brother
of Sacajawea, who
helped the Lewis and
Clark Expedition at a
critical point.
(right) Prayer bundles
in traditional native
colors adorn the
fence around the
mass grave at the site
of the Wounded Knee
Massacre in
Wounded Knee, S.D.
February 27, 2003,
marks the 30th anniversary of a standoff
between the American Indian Movement
and the Federal government.
AP Photo/Doug Dreyer
'Racino' plans in the works
The owners of Canterbury Park in Shakopee are banking on favorable
gaming legislation, which faces opposition from Minnesota Indian tribes
by David Phelps
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Canterbury Park's owners and
supporters announced plans
Monday for a $90 million expansion project in conjunction with
legislation to allow slot and video
gambling at the Shakopee horse
track.
The legislation would place
control ofthe gambling operation
under the Minnesota Lottery and
provide an estimated $75 million
a year in state revenues, according to Canterbury chief executive
Randy Sampson.
Senate Minority Leader Dick
Day, R-Owatonna, and Rep.
Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, are
chief sponsors of the legislation,
which rates as a long shot given
Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's
opposition to gambling expansion
in Minnesota.
The Canterbury proposal to
create a "racino," also faces opposition from Minnesota Indian
tribes, which currently have exclusive rights to offer slots, video
gambling and blackjack at 19 reservation casinos.
The tribes contend that they
have an agreement with the state
that prohibits gambling beyond
the reservations and that non-Indian gambling would particularly
hurt reservations outside the Twin
Cities metropolitan area.
"It's the same old story," said
John McCarthy ofthe Minnesota
Indian Gaming Commission.
"Every time the tribes have gotten anything, someone is there to
take it away."
Minnesota bar owners also are
concerned that slots at Canterbury would hurt their business.
"It's hard enough now to compete with casinos," said James
Farreli of the Minnesota Licensed
Beverage Association. "What
happens if you multiply that?"
But Day was undeterred in his
optimism about the track project,
which includes a 250-room hotel,
an equestrian center with a 3,000-
seat arena for show horses, polo
grounds and a cross-country
RACINO to page 6
Cash in hand,
tribes cultivate
clout in D.C.
by'Thomas Hargrove
Albuquerque Tribune
The Sandia Pueblo has spent
millions of dollars of casino revenue to lobby Congress for
rights to Sandia Mountain, proof
of the growing clout on Capitol
Hill of the Indian gaming lobby.
In the last four years, the casino gambling industry in
America has also made $19.7
milhon in political contributions,
including $4.3 milhon in direct
FRAUD to page 7
Doyle cut gaming deal with 2nd tribe
Now Oneida and Potawatomi have perpetual
gaming compacts
by Tom Sheehan
Wisconsin State Journal
As Republicans attacked Gov.
Jim Doyle last week for cutting a
deal with the Oneida Nation for a
perpetual gaming compact, Doyle
was busy signing a similar deal
with another of the state's 11 tribes,
records released Monday show.
On Feb. 19, Doyle signed a perpetual agreement with the Forest
County Potowatomi to allow that
tribe to offer more gambling options in exchange for a higher cut
of its take. That's the same day Re
publican legislators slammed
Doyle for reaching a tentative deal
in secret with the Oneida Nation
for a gaming compact that never
expires. Announcement Monday of
a signed deal with the Potawatomi
drew similar outrage from Republican leaders.
The Potawatomi agreement calls
for annual payments to increase
from about $8 milhon a year currently to about $40 milhon in 2004
and $50 milhon in 2005, said Secretary of Administration Marc
DOYLE to page 3